In a recent speech on the responsibility of Catholics to address climate change and its impact on the poor, Bishop Skylstad of Spokane cited Notre Dame’s conference Renewing the Campus: Sustainability and the Catholic University as an important example of “how the Catholic community is responding to the ecological crisis”.
“The University of Notre Dame hosted a weekend-long symposium last October for Catholic universities to explore ways to integrate environmental awareness, Catholic social teaching on the environment, and practical ways to reduce their carbon footprint into their institutions,” said the Bishop.
Bishop Skylstad spoke at Gonzaga University in early April. He is the honorary chairman of the Catholic Climate Covenant, a project of the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change that aims to engage Catholic individuals and communities around the country in addressing climate change.
Renewing the Campus was the first national conference dedicated to enhancing understanding, activism, and cooperation among Catholic universities in the area of sustainability. Over 200 faculty, administrators, and students from 45 universities across the country participated.
Notre Dame is continuing to support sustainability engagement among Catholic universities by co-hosting a networking event at the coming Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education conference and exploring ways to participate in the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change’s education programs.